Shots fired from vehicle triggers pursuit

Shots were fired from one vehicle into another on North Cottage Avenue shortly after 2:30 a.m. Saturday and witnessed by a Manteca Police officer.

Sgt. Joe Aguilar was on routine patrol behind two vehicles southbound on Cottage Avenue from Louise Avenue when the three drivers all went over the Highway 99 overpass. Aguilar said when he reached the top of the bridge he could see a full-size extended cab, dark colored pickup had pulled over into the weeds at the base of the bridge.

The second vehicle a blue Ford Escort had pulled up next to it and in that moment the officer said he heard five gun shots and could see smoke from the gunfire in his headlights.

The driver of the Escort fled south on Cottage Avenue with the officer giving pursuit. When fleeing motorist reached Yosemite Avenue, he went westbound to Sherman Avenue where he made a right turn and drove northbound to Sutter Street where he yielded to the police officer who had activated his lights and siren early on in the chase.

Police arrested the driver Michael Brewer, 20, for driving under the influence and for a second DUI charge. The passenger in the car Christopher Booker, 21, was arrested on a past warrant. They were unable to locate a weapon and theorized it must have been in the pickup or thrown out in the pursuit.

The pickup truck also fled the scene and officers were unable to make contact with that driver. In their follow up investigation, police located shell casings on Cottage Avenue where the officer witnessed the shots being fired. Officers added that there had been a pedestrian walking on Cottage at the time of the shooting.

Also on Saturday morning the glass front door at the Nearly New Thrift Shop, 604 East Yosemite Avenue, was smashed out. It wasn’t clear whether any of the merchandise was taken from the shop.